Ash And Misty's Love
by Llyxius
Summary: It's Misty's birthday, and Ash decides to give her love. Wait a second, that's not what I meant...
1. What is Love?

Ash and Misty's Love

This is set in Pallet town right before the Pokémon League.Coincidentally, the same time period as my friend Spruceton Spook's self-titled fic _Spooked_ (just kidding on the self-titled part.)If you haven't read her stuff—go.Read.Now.This is dedicated to her, Mandy, and Sharon.

There are hints of AAML in here.(DUH!)But the title is not quite what you think it is.Oh, and if you don't like cute, stay away.Stay far away.Otherwise...enjoy!

**_Ash and Misty's Love_**

** **

_Chapter One—What is Love?_

"Two sixty-eight...two sixty-nine..."

Ash sighed as he finished counting."Two dollars and seventy-three cents.Pikachu, we're in trouble.That's not even enough to buy gift wrap."

Pikachu patted his trainer's back sympathetically.

"Thanks, buddy," Ash said.He climbed the ladder to his bed and flopped down on his mattress."What am I going to do?" he thought out loud.Misty's birthday was less than a week away.Even if he knew what to give her, he had no money to buy anything.He barely had enough to buy an ice cream cone.Of course, she did like ice cream...nah, too hard to wrap.

"I need money," he said again.He studied the shape of his bank thoughtfully, absentmindedly stroking the charm on its head."This is one time it would come in handy to have a real Meowth around.I sure could use Pay Day."

Pikachu made a face and shuddered.

"Not worth it even for that, huh?" Ash laughed, scratching the pokémon's head affectionately."They're not all like Meowth from Team Rocket, you know."

Pikachu stuck his tongue out and then fell over in a 'play dead' position.

"Have it your way..."Ash shook his head at his pokémon's dramatics."Come on.Maybe Mom will know what to do."His face brightened at the idea."Mom!Yeah, that's it!"

Heartened by this thought, Ash scrambled down from his bed and ran down the steps to the kitchen."Mom, I need..." he began excitedly, but stopped himself short.

Misty and Brock were at the table, watching him curiously.He couldn't ask his mom for anything in front of themThe reason for silence in front of Misty was obvious.As for Brock—Ash preferred not to be teased mercilessly about a nonexistent crush.He was only doing this, he insisted to himself, because Misty was a friend. 

"You need...to take out the trash?" his mom supplied, her reminder unwittingly saving him."Is that what you were going to say?"

"Uh, right.Okay," he said.But he still needed money for a gift...inspiration struck."Can I have a quarter?"

"Ash!" Delia said.She gave her son an amused yet exasperated look.Misty and Brock burst out laughing.

"Geez, Ash, I always knew you were greedy, but don't you know that you can't charge your mom for doing your chores?" Misty teased.

"Hey, you don't even know what it's for," Ash protested.

"What's it for then?" she asked.

Oops.Duh.Ash mentally kicked himself.

"Nothing," Ash said."For your information, I'd take out the trash whether I got a quarter or not!I was just hoping she had a quarter."

_Then again, getting paid to take out the trash isn't such a bad idea, he thought to himself.__Why haven't I thought of that before?I could be rich by now!_

"I should think you would," his mom said wryly, but walked over to the cookie jar, which,Ash happened to know, was not used for cookies at all.The cookies were stored in the sugar canister.The spare change was stored in the cookie jar.She pulled out two quarters.

"There are two bags of trash, here's a quarter apiece," she said."You're not going to waste them on more pokémon cards, are you?"

"I don't think so," Ash said truthfully.He didn't need them when he had the real thing.Though...would Misty like pokémon cards?Judging from the fact that both she and Brock were rolling their eyes now, he guessed not.He should have known—she didn't approve of his comics either.But what did she like?

"Whatever, sweetie," Delia sighed, shaking her head."As long as you take out the trash, I don't care what you spend it on."

"Thanks mom!" In a show of gratitude, he slung the bags enthusiastically over his shoulder—so enthusiastically, in fact, that he almost threw them into the doorframe and barely missed splitting them open.

"Oops," he apologized, and hastily opened the door to leave.His mom rolled her eyes. Ash could hear Misty taking another dig at him even as he was walking out the door.

"Hope you don't regret that, Mrs. Ketchum."

_Ungrateful, Ash thought as he shut the door behind him.__She doesn't even know I'm doing this for her.He was struck with an apprehensive thought.__Then again, I hope she doesn't regret it, either...wait a minute, why am I worrying about it?_

He sighed.Friends were complicated.Girls were even more so.And friends who were girls...well, they were so confusing that sometimes Ash decided that surely, an undiscovered pokémon species must be easier to figure out.

"A pokémon named Misty," Ash said, then snickered.Riiiiight.

***

_Three dollars and twenty-three cents.Ash dropped his most recent earnings in his bank and listened to the coins clink._

"Now what?" he asked out loud.He was going to have to make a lot more than fifty cents at a time if he wanted to earn enough to buy a decent present.He wandered over to his window and looked out, discovering that his mom and Mr. Mime were working together down in the garden.There was a thought.Now would be a good time to go talk to her... 

"Ash, what are you doing?"Misty appeared in the doorway, giving him a funny look.She had been doing that a lot over the past hour.

"Nothing," he said, suddenly annoyed at her arrival.He couldn't talk to his mom while she was around, but Misty had been popping up all over the place ever since that incident right before lunch.It was almost like she knew he was up to something and had been following him around intentionally, though she would never admit to it...

Hey, that was it!

"Why are you following me around?" Ash asked, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her the cool once-over.Misty looked taken aback, then furious.

"What?"She gave him death glare, but Ash couldn't tell how sincere it was.Seeing as he wasn't dead yet, it _could be a cover-up."Of course not!You're crazy!Why would I be following you around?" she shouted._

"Then what are you doing?" Ash asked smugly.

"What...I'm...nothing, absolutely nothing!"Misty said, flustered.She stormed out in a huff."Following him...the boy is nuts...absolutely nuts..." Ash heard her mumbling as she walked away.

In spite of himself Ash was surprised. _What do you know.I was right!_

"It works two ways," Ash said, nodding his head, a satisfied grin on his face.He and Pikachu gave themselves a thumbs up."Come on now, let's go find mom before Misty changes her mind and comes back."

He peered out of his doorway. The coast was clear, so he quietly snuck down the stairs and peeked into the living room.Misty and Brock were both there, Brock watching TV from the sofa, and Misty sitting by the window, alternately watching the program herself and glaring out the window.She was still annoyed.

Excellent.

All he had to do now was make it to the kitchen without being spotted.He crept down the hallway, tiptoeing in hopes of making less noise, carefully edging around the boards he knew would creak.He made it to the kitchen and slunk around the perimeter to the door.He was just congratulating himself as he put his hand on the doorknob when...

"Ash Ketchum, what are you doing?"

"Argh!"

He nearly fell over.Busted!Turning around, he tried to concoct a convincing explanation."Uh...well..."

His mom stood looking at him, tapping her foot.

"Mom!" he said, wiping his brow.Thank goodness, his secret was still safe."I was looking for you.I thought you were outside."

"I came in for some water," she said. "What was it you needed?"

"Are we alone?" Ash asked.

His mom gave him a puzzled look."Yes..." she said slowly.

"Mom," he paused."I wanted to ask you something..."Surely his mom would understand him.She wouldn't overreact like everyone else.

"What do girls like for their birthdays?"he said.There.It was finally out in the open.

Delia's gaze softened, and a grin twitched at the corner of her mouth."So that's what this is all about," she said, in a suspiciously high-pitched sing-song voice."You want to get Misty a present."

"Mo-um," Ash groaned."Don't make a big deal out of it.She _ismy friend."_

"Of course, sweetie, of course," she cooed."Well, I would suggest getting her..."

"Yes?" Ash said eagerly.

"...something that she would like," his mom finished.

"ARGH!"Ash slumped against the wall and smacked himself on the forehead in frustration."I KNEW THAT ALREADY!" he yelled, then jumped at the sound of another voice.

"Ash, don't yell at your mother like that.It's extremely rude," Misty scolded, giving him a dirty look.

"Geez, Misty, where do you keep coming from today!" Ash said.How much had she heard?He shot her a look of unmistakable annoyance which Misty bristled at."I'm not yelling at her!" he said.

"Hmph.Funny, I thought that that's what shouting at the top of your lungs was—yelling."

"I wasn't yelling at her!" Though the same couldn't be said for _now..."I was yelling, but I wasn't yelling __ather!If I was yelling __ather I would sound like THIS!"_

"So I suppose you're yelling at _ME, then, HUH?" Misty shouted herself, crossing the distance between them and glaring at him, trying to intimidate him with her added height.Ash stood his ground._

"YEAH!LIKE THIS!"

"OH YEAH?"

"YEAH!"

"YEAH?!"

"YEAH!"

"YEAH?!"

"WHY I OUGHTA..."

"Ash!"The sound of Delia's melodic laughter broke the argument up just as quickly as it began.She gave her son an amused look, and he looked back at her sheepishly.He supposed it did look rather silly to be shouting at a girl one minute and planning to buy her a gift the next.

_Though...he thought in confusion, __the way Brock says it, it works that way with **any girl, not just Misty...**_

_His mom was still smiling at him, obviously pleased at the interest—or perceived interest—that Ash had shown earlier."Tell you what, Ash," she said as she pulled a list off the refrigerator door."I need some grocery shopping done.You go to the store and pick these up for me, and I'll give you..." she consulted the cookie jar."Five dollars, for whatever that secret project of yours is."She winked at him._

Ash ignored the teasing. _Eight dollars and twenty-three cents.Ash's eyes widened.If this kept up, he may even have something left over for himself.___

_"You got it!" Ash said happily, yanking the list out of his mom's hand with such enthusiasm that he nearly tore it in half.He hurriedly smoothed out the wrinkles.Misty and Delia both sighed._

"Misty, dear, you and Brock wouldn't want to tag along to see that the groceries get home in one piece, would you?" Delia asked."I'll watch Togepi for you.Besides, there are some nice stores downtown.You might want to do some windowshopping."She gave her son a look that Ash was actually able to interpret as, _Pay attention.You might get some ideas of what she likes from this trip.He gave her a subtle nod of agreement._

"Sure thing, Mrs. Ketchum," Misty said.She went back to the living room to pull Brock away from the TV.Sounds of shouts and scuffling emerged from the area and Ash and his mom looked at each other with their eyebrows raised.Finally Misty came back carrying a sleeping Togepi in one hand and dragging Brock by one ear with the other.

"But..but..." Brock was stammering.Misty's face was an angry red and her eyes were squinted in irritation.

"You don't need to watch any more of that crap," Misty said, disgust apparent in her voice."Male chauvinist pig!"

Ash's curiosity got the best of him, and he hoped it didn't mean that Misty was going to kill him for it."What was it?"He dared to ask.

"It was beautiful.It was lovely.It was..." Brock breathed out.

"It was the Annual Police Department beauty pageant!" Misty said, shaking Brock in annoyance as she informed the others."Twenty Officer Jennys competing for the title of 'Most Arresting Police Officer'!It was propaganda, it was exploitation, it was..."

"...the swimsuit competition," Brock said mournfully.Ash gave a low whistle.

"And you were able to drag him away from that?"Ash said in admiration."Wow, Mist, you're stronger than I thought."

"Never underestimate the power of a water pokémon trainer," Misty said, nodding in satisfaction as she gave Brock one last swat on the ear.

Brock just looked pained.

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COMING UP IN CHAPTER TWO:What is love?You'll find out...

Poké-pun of the day:Why the heck does Mr. Mime say his name?

(Think about it, think about it...)

Review, please.Preferably no number reviews though.Reminds me too much of school.And this, if I neglected to mention it before, is just for fun.And that's my disclaimer.^_~


	2. All You Need is Love

Ash and Misty's Love

Standard disclaimers and cuteness warnings still apply.

**_Ash and Misty's Love_**

_Chapter Two—All You Need Is Love_

Ash hadn't realized how hard he would have to work to earn his money.In fact, he would be tempted to say he was underpaid.Maybe he should ask for a raise.

It wasn't the shopping list that made it hard.It wasn't the prices, and it wasn't the stores.It wasn't even the towering bags of groceries that practically obscured his vision as he lugged them home.

It was Misty.

"Come on, Misty, Pallet town isn't exactly the shopping capital of the world," Ash complained, juggling the groceries in his arms as she stopped them to look in yet another store."We don't even have a mall."

"Isn't this cute?" she said, completely ignoring him as she pointed to the window display of stuffed pokémon toys.Ash attempted to follow her finger and his eyes settled on a plush oddish.He would have noted it as a potential gift, but after about the fiftieth item that Misty had squealed over, he had given up.He was just as close to knowing what she really wanted for her birthday as he was before the shopping trip.

"Adorable," Ash said flatly."Can we go now?"

"Your mom said I could shop," Misty said, sticking her nose in the air impertinently.Ash was sure the only reason she stayed and idled by the window, goggling over the toys in an exaggerated manner, was to annoy him.He sighed.

"Yes, but I think she was expecting the groceries to be back by the time she started to cook supper," he said sarcastically.Thank goodness they had no cold stuff in the bags.Though he did kind of wish that they had ice cream...

"Fine, if you're going to be that way," Misty said in a huff, and promptly stalked off ahead of him.Ash rolled his eyes at Brock, but Brock didn't see him, as he was just as laden with groceries as Ash was.At least Brock didn't have the disadvantage of having a fuzzy yellow electric pokémon riding on his shoulder at the same time.

"Pikachu, could you do me a favor..." Ash started to ask him to jump down.

"Pi?"As if he knew what Ash was thinking, Pikachu nuzzled his ear affectionately, patted his trainer on the head, and turned big, innocent eyes upon him.

"Err...move your tail off my neck.It tickles," Ash amended.Pikachu willingly complied and giggled.Ash wasn't sure if it was because his pokémon was happy or because it had just tricked him.Probably both.

_Sometimes, I wonder which of us is the **real trainer.**_

"Oh, look at that!" Misty said, her annoyance replaced with rapture as she stared in the store window.Her emotion sounded genuine this time.Just great—they'd already been in town for over two hours.Now Misty was obviously working on three.Ash glanced at the name on the shingle in front of the store and blinked in confusion.What the heck could Misty want in a drugstore?

"What is it this time?" he groaned.

Misty paused to sniff the air reverently before answering, a look of pure happiness on her face."This smells delicious," she murmured."I wonder which one would smell best on me..."

"Oh no..."

That could only mean one thing.Ash looked through the window more carefully and spotted the dreaded sign._Special promotional offer: 50% off all the **Emotions line of toiletries.Through Thursday only.**_

Not perfume again.Ash would have hit himself had he not had his arms full.As it was he still winced.He'd gotten into enough trouble over perfume in Celadon City.If he never saw it again it would be too soon—it should be illegal for that stinky stuff to be in his own hometown.

"I'm going in," Misty announced as she walked through the door, not bothering to wait on them.Ash heard the little bell jingling as the door shut behind her.

"I never would have guessed."Ash shifted the bags in his arms, then spotted a bench next to the store front.He set his packages down and made a decision."Hey Brock, wait here for a minute.I'm going to make sure she doesn't take too long."

_Not to mention make a last-ditch effort in finding a birthday gift while Misty's preoccupied with the perfume.But he kept this thought from Brock.As far as he was aware, his mom was the only one right now who knew what his plans were, and Ash was perfectly content to keep it that way.Besides, the chances of him finding anything in a drugstore were slim to none._

"I don't know Ash, you know what happened last time..."

"You're not trying to keep me out of trouble.You're just trying to flirt with the shopkeeper," Ash said.

"Hey..." Brock looked hurt.

"Besides, it's a guy."

"A guy?How can a guy sell perfume successfully?" Brock said indignantly, then grudgingly settled himself down on the bench with the groceries."Alright then, I guess I can watch the groceries.Try not to make the man too mad, your mom still has to live here, you know."

"Yeah, yeah...come on, Pikachu."

Both Misty and the employee she must have roped in to help her looked up at the sound of bell when Ash walked in.He stood there self-consciously as Misty proceeded to ignore him while the employee said, "Can I help you, sir?"

Pretending he didn't hear Misty's snort at the word 'sir,' Ash said, "I'm with her."

"He just likes to follow me around," Misty said, casting him a condescending look.

"Excuse me?Who follows _whoaround?"Ash began angrily, then noticed the employee's startled expression.His nametag said __Ben._

"I mean...uh...anyway, sorry to interrupt," he said hastily, hoping Ben was an easygoing character.He was just an associate, not a manager, right?They had to be nice to all the customers.He hoped.He hadn't even insulted the perfume yet.It would be crazy to get kicked out of the store for being obnoxious when he wasn't even trying to be.

Ash walked over to a display and tried to pretend that he was actually interested in strawberry smelling shampoo—he could always say it was for Pikachu.He brushed off the strange look Misty gave him at this action. 

_Although Pikachu appears to like orange better...Ash grinned at his pokémon.Pikachu was curiously trying to examine some citrus-smelling air freshener, but shuddered when he accidentally managed to release some. __Or not._

"The girl was just looking at our latest perfume."Ben startled Ash by directing this information towards him.The employee's voice was pleasant, so Ash decided he couldn't be mad—though he had no idea why Ben was making an effort to include Ash in conversation.

"Right," Ash said, as that was the safest thing for him to say.

"Oh, I wouldn't bother explaining it to him," Misty advised."He wouldn't be able to tell the difference scented water and perfume."Ash, though irritated, had an honest look of confusion at that remark.

"But isn't that what perfume is..." He stopped at the glares that Misty and Ben were giving him and hastily backpedaled."Uh, I mean, what kind of perfume is it?"

"It's called _Love," Ben said._

In spite of his resolution, it took all of Ash's efforts not to snicker out loud.He struggled to keep a straight face.Like some scented water called _Love was really going to help a girl get a boyfriend, which is what he was sure they all believed.Especially a girl like Misty who, in his opinion, was too much of a tomboy to ever get a boyfriend.Even if it did make her a lot of fun to hang around—when she wasn't insulting him at least.Wait, he couldn't mention any of this while he was still in the store._

"That's nice," he said.For once he decided that the less he said, the better.He had made that promise to Brock, after all.His commentstill had the unexpected yet satisfactory result of having Misty almost fall out of her chair in shock.

"What?No snide remarks, no rude comments about how I'm spending my money, no idiotic statements about things you know nothing about?" she asked in astonishment.

Ash shrugged.Explaining Brock's admonition would clarify everything, but that was way too easy.It was more fun to see her surprised reaction.

"You're free to like what you like," was all he said.Misty blinked, bewildered.

"Well, I do like this," she said defensively, then turned her attention back to the employee, still looking slightly dazed at this turn of events.

Ash continued browsing, or so it seemed.He seemed to have won that round, but he still didn't understand girls and their obsessions with perfume.He hadn't changed his opinion of it—it was too expensive and only boys like Brock actually cared whether a girl wore it or not.But he had learned his lesson well the last time.For all his jabs, as long as Misty liked it, it didn't really matter to him...he stopped in his tracks, struck with a sudden realization.

"_I suggest that you get her...something that she likes."_

_His mom's voice echoing in his head, Ash groaned to himself.Pikachu looked at him curiously.Ash spoke in low enough tones that only he and his pokémon could hear him._

"Aw, _shoot!"_

***__

"But mom, she's the only one who cares about that stuff," Ash complained to his mom later that day.He had managed to get her alone under the pretext of helping her clean the bathroom.Though it turned out his excuse had worked too well; he was the one stuck cleaning the toilet while his mom neatly arranged her own perfume bottles on the vanity tray.

"Which is all the more reason to get it for her, Ash," his mom said pleasantly.Ash thought darkly that his mom was acting way too understanding about this—which made him think that she didn't understand a thing at all.For the umpteenth time he wondered if a girl, even if she was only a friend, was worth it.Maybe it was time to rethink that ice cream cone.

Delia was still talking."Giving somebody something that you know they like, even if you don't like it yourself, is one of the nicest things you can do for someone.It shows them that you respect their choices, even if you don't agree with them."

"But perfume?" Ash whined.

"Yes, perfume too," his mom said.Ash sighed.

"Alright then.But...it's really expensive," he hedged.

"How much is it?"

"Twenty-five dollars."

"Oh, is that all?" his mom asked.Ash gave her a look that was a combination of shock and horror as she continued saying, "That's about normal for a bottle of perfume...actually, it's a bit cheap, I'd say."

"It's on sale," Ash said, trying to imagine what in the world could make a bottle of scented water worth the cost.He could eat out everyday for a week for that kind of money.Heck, at the kind of places they ate, he could eat out for _two weeks._

"Oh, so that explains it," Delia said mildly.

"But even so, how can I make that money by Thursday?That's when the sale ends, and it's only two days from now.I've haven't even made half of that yet."Ash's shoulders drooped just thinking of it.

"Well..."His mom inspected Ash's work critically."Tell you what.Finish cleaning the bathtub, and I'll give you five more dollars for doing such a good job."

"Really?"Ash perked up."Well, okay, that helps...but it's _still only about half of what I need."_

"I'll call Professor Oak sometime tonight and see if he needs any hired help tomorrow," his mom said, winking at him."Don't worry.I'm sure that one way or the other you'll be able to find the money by her birthday."Ash guessed by her tone that he was supposed to read something into that statement, but he couldn't tell what it was, and that slightly worried him.

"Thursday," Ash corrected."I have to buy it that afternoon at the latest.Because if not, I'm sure I can't earn fifty dollars by Friday!"

_Not to mention that I wouldn't even bother buying it by that point.Twenty-five dollars is enough money to waste as it is._

"If you say so."His mom nodded.There was that tone again.He supposed he was just going to have to trust her on this one.He smiled.

"Thanks, mom," Ash said gratefully.Impulsively he stopped what he was doing and turned to give her a great big bear hug.His mom was surprised yet pleased, hugging him right back.Ash smelled the soft scent of rose petals, his mom's own favorite perfume, as he held on to her.He suddenly realized that on all his journeys and probably for the rest of his life, whenever he smelled that particular smell he would instantly remember tender, loving memories of his mom. 

_Maybe perfume is good for something after all.He closed his eyes in contentment, then sighed, the warmth he felt at this thought fading as he was reminded of one minor detail._

_But why, oh why did it have to be called **LOVE?**_

_ _

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COMING UP IN CHAPTER THREE: What do cake, the Beatles, and Sinatra on steroids have to do with each other?It's all about love...

Poké-pun of the day:What do you get when you cross a Jigglypuff and a Snorlax?A pokémon that sings itself to sleep!

(Oh boy, that was bad...admit it, you smiled....)

The title makes a bit more sense now, doesn't it?Btw, I'm sure there are plenty of perfumes out there called _Love_, but my inspiration happened to be the new _Imagine_ line that Bath and Body Works has.

Thanks so much for everyone who has reviewed so far.Ya'll are sweethearts!Yes, I'm from the South, and 'ya'll' _is_ a word.Check the dictionary!^_~

I also wanted to thank Spruceton Spook again, as I remembered that last time I plugged her fics (and the recommendation still holds) but forgot to thank her for explaining to me—twice—how to submit this story in the first place.We have a very patient Spook, and I'm grateful.^_^

Cross your fingers that I don't have to work too much this week, and I'll see you soon!


	3. Don't Say You Love Me

Ash and Misty's Love

**_ _**

**_Ash and Misty's Love_**

_Chapter Three—Don't Say You Love Me_

Ash leaned on his rake and wiped his brow, tilting his cap lower to get more shade on his face.Working for Professor Oak was anything but easy.The Professor was landscaping a new area for plant pokémon, and Ash had been toiling in the hot sun for several hours that afternoon.Pikachu had helped out in the beginning but eventually got distracted by the apple trees adjacent to the lot.He and an eevee had made friends shortly thereafter, and they were now both taking a nap underneath the shade of some lilac bushes.If Ash hadn't been so tired he would have smiled at how cute they looked.Right now he just wanted a nap himself.

"Just one more thing," the Professor said for the millionth time that day.The first time Ash had believed him.He had been fooled the second time as well.Professors were supposed to be of the honest sort—that whole academic integrity thing and all.But by now Ash had come to realize that this wasn't the case.Though in fairness to the Professor, maybe it wasn't his fault that he was lying.Maybe his voice box was stuck on 'repeat.'

Ash looked up wearily, expecting to see Professor Oak handing him some other sort of torture device—like a shovel—and to his shock saw that the Professor was smiling and holding out a ten-dollar bill instead.

"I'm assuming you want your wages," the Professor said.

Ash cheered up immediately."Wow, thanks, Professor Oak!"He accepted the money gratefully.

"It's for a good cause," the Professor said.He grinned widely and Ash inwardly groaned, already anticipating the next question."What's the name of the perfume again?"

"I don't know," Ash mumbled, only to have the Professor laugh out loud at this.

His mom had told the Professor _exactly what Ash needed the money for, and Ash had been teased all afternoon about the 'sweet' gift that he was giving Misty.Not to mention had lots of hints dropped as to what kind it was.After their conversation yesterday, his mom had asked the name of the perfume.She had gotten suspicious when her quite ordinary and reasonable question had been met by blushes and stammers by her son.Ash had tried to bluff his way out of it by saying he didn't know.But after a cunning interrogation—how was he going to buy perfume when he didn't even know what it was called?—his mom had pulled out of him that this wasn't the case, and he was just too embarrassed to tell her the truth._

Which, of course, only served to heighten her and the Professor's curiosity.

"How about we go back inside and have some lemonade and cookies?" the Professor said, mercifully dropping the conversation—for now."I think Brock and Misty will be finished themselves by now."

Ash was anxious for cookies but more anxious to change the subject, so he readily agreed."Sure!"

Brock and Misty were not only done, but they were already in the kitchen snacking on some pound cake when Ash and the Professor came in.Misty wrinkled her nose at Ash as he plopped down in the chair next to her.

"Eww, you stink," she complained.Ash glared at her.

"We'll, I've been working," he said.

"Imagine that," she said sarcastically."Go wash your hands."She turned her back to him.Ash was sorely tempted to grab a piece of cake right then and there, sweaty hands and all.Professor Oak was already over at the sink washing his own hands, though, so Ash just sighed and walked over to take his turn.

He cleaned up as quickly as he could and sat back down, purposely avoiding Misty as he inwardly sulked over the misfortune of doing a good deed only to be harassed for it.He paused frowning only long enough to accept a glass of lemonade and piece of cake from the Professor and thank him for it.

"What's this, Brock?" Professor Oak asked as he cut himself a piece.

"Oh, Professor Oak, I hope you don't mind...I finished early so I made you some cake that I found in the cupboard.You weren't saving it for anything special, were you?" Brock asked.

"Mind?Of course not, it looks delicious.Thank you," the Professor answered.They segued into a discussion of ready-made cake mix versus homemade, which Ash and Misty thought prudent to ignore.

Ash sighed when he finished and stared at his now clean plate._Twenty-three dollars and twenty-three cents.Twenty-four cents, if you count that penny I found yesterday.He was almost there._

A poke in his side broke his train of thought.He ignored it, but another one followed.He brushed it away, irritated.Then another one.

"Stop it, Pikachu," he said in a low voice.A giggle followed.

"He's still outside, silly," Misty reminded him."What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he grumbled.That effectively narrowed the culprit down to one person, but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of reacting.He laid his head down on the table and closed his eyes.He was tired.

There was another poke.When he didn't respond, there was one more.And then there was a series of repeated jabs.Ash was suddenly fed up.

"WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALREADY!" he yelled, startling everyone as he sprang up out of his chair.He gave Misty a look of pure frustration.Her eyes looked slightly confused, but were quickly narrowed to rise to the occasion.

But Professor Oak stopped the fight before it even began by bursting out in laughter at this reaction, surprising all three kids.He gave Ash a knowing look.

"What?"Misty and Brock asked.Ash just sighed and sat back down.Amazing how planning to do something nice for a person gave him an extra margin of behavior with the adults.Normally Professor Oak would already be yelling at him.But today he simply smiled.

"Nothing.I think I just overworked Ash today," he said, winking at Ash.Ash just put his head back down on the table, prompting more chuckling from the Professor.

Misty wasn't ready to let it drop."I don't understand why you're so money-hungry lately, Ash," she complained.Ash could tell she was still miffed because she thought he was in a bad mood.

"He's just trying to act responsible and save up money for himself. Right, Ash?"Brock said.Delia and the Professor both had let it slip to Brock what Ash was saving the money for, and now Brock was in on it too.At least this time he was defending him instead of teasing him.

"For what?That Hyper Ball you've been whining about to your mom?It's not even _your birthday coming up."Misty sniffed.Ash had to give her credit, she hadn't been obnoxious about her upcoming birthday, she just sprinkled her conversation with occasional allusions to it.But he knew that if Princess Day was any indication, all that would change on Friday.He wondered sarcastically if his mom had any spare red carpet lying around the house._

"It's not that," was all he bothered replying.

"Besides, I don't see why Ash gets paid when we all did work.He should share."

Ash's face, luckily still hidden by the table top, gave a twitch in anger.If he did that, he'd still have almost ten dollars to earn before tomorrow!As it was, one more job should be able to finish it off._That ungrateful little..._

"Ash isn't the only one getting a salary," the Professor said mildly, and Ash calmed down, and bothered to lift his head up from the table to look at the Professor in surprise.Brock and Misty shared his expression.

"Oh, that's not necessary..." Brock began.Ash knew that Misty obviously disagreed with that, but even she wasn't rude enough to contradict Brock in front of the Professor.

"Nonsense."Professor Oak pulled two more tens out of a bread box on the counter, and Ash wondered for a moment what it was with adults and their weird hiding places for money."Everybody has something they want, don't they?"

"Thank you," Brock and Misty said, and Misty looked satisfied.

"I know what I'm saving my money for."She looked up dreamily, her chin resting on her hand for a moment before she twisted her arm around so that she could smell her wrist.She succeeded in making Brock look at her curiously.Uh-oh.Ash got a bad feeling about this.

"What is it?"Brock asked.

"This."She held out her wrist towards Brock who gave an obligatory sniff."It's that perfume I saw yesterday.The salesperson gave me a sample.I like it, don't you?"

Ash saw Professor Oak and Brock both perk up at this information, and the Professor gave Ash a sly grin."Very nice.What's it called?"

_The jig is up.Life as I know it is over.Ash let his head fall back to the table so hard that it 'clunked,' and he heard a small snicker from Brock at that movement.He was more concerned with the fact that his head hurt now.__That was stupid._

Misty paused for dramatics."It's called 'Love.'"

Whatever reaction she had been expecting, Ash had a feeling it wasn't the one she got.Though _he could have predicted the gales of laughter that followed that statement. He kept his head firmly down on the table and wondered what shade of pink it was turning._

"Love?"Brock sputtered."That's appropriate," he said, then burst into laughter again.Ash looked up long enough to give him a dagger-look then remembered he was ignoring them and faced the table again.He wondered if crawling underneath it would help any.

"What?"Misty asked.Ash heard an edge in her voice.

"Oh, nothing," Professor Oak said, his laughter fading but the merriment still in his voice.Ash could feel the Professor's eyes on the back of his head but he refused to look up.

"It's just that...don't you know Misty?'Love don't cost a thing,'"Brock said.He was less successful than the Professor at stopping his snickering.

"That's not funny," Misty growled.

"I think Brock's right," the Professor said solemnly."After all..."

Brock and the Professor double-teamed on the next one."Can't buy me love, love, love!"They both started laughing again.Misty and Ash both looked at them incredulously.

"It's a good perfume," Misty said, definitely irked by this point.

"Love _isa many splendored thing," the Professor said._

"Nah.I think it hurts," Brock chimed in.

"You would know," Ash muttered.But the two continued their banter.

"Well, love is just a game."

"That makes the world go round."

"And heals the wounded heart."

"I thought that was time."

"You may be right...but love takes time."

"Until the end...of time..."the Professor and Brock both chorused again.Misty opened her mouth to retort but someone beat her to it.

"IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY!" Ash yelled.Misty looked at him in surprise, her look both bewildered and gratified.

"What's wrong Ash?Scared of love?"Brock asked, wiggling his eyebrows at him.Ash buried his face in his hands.

"At least Ash has enough sense not to laugh," Misty said, unexpectedly defending him.Though she immediately nullified her kindness by asking,"Did I just say Ash had sense?" 

"Give me a break," he mumbled.He wasn't sure if he was talking to Brock and the Professor or to Misty.Probably all three.

"Give a little love," Brock suggested.

"Love will find a way," the Professor added.

"Oh boy."

Ash couldn't tell if he or Misty said it first.But they exchanged a look of commiseration and both laid their heads on the table this time.

***

"Is he never going to get bored of that?"Ash stormed down the hall, Pikachu trailing behind his trainer curiously.Two rooms away he could still hear Brock in the kitchen warbling 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' extremely off-key.Delia's tinkling laugh broke through during every rest.

Much to Ash and Misty's chagrin, Brock had kept up his act all the way home from the Professor's, and then throughout supper.Misty had gotten so fed up that she had left before dessert was served.And Brock was so annoying that Ash had even been tempted to do the same—until his mom pulled out the ice cream.Nothing could pull him away from a Double Fudge Ripple ice cream cone.Not even a half-crazed Pokémon breeder who thought he was Sinatra on steroids. 

But now, with the dinner dishes cleared off the table and the ice cream safe in his stomach, Ash had decided to hightail it out of there before Brock and his mom could come up with any more bad puns.He had just about had it with this perfume business.Tomorrow he should go into town to find another gift.He had more than twenty dollars, which was more than enough for him to find a_normal gift._

He headed toward his room to see if Misty was there.He had mixed feelings about her part in this whole charade.On the one hand, he held a grudge against her for getting him into this mess in the first place.However, she was also an unlikely ally with all the teasing that was going on.All in all, he supposed their relationship was just about normal.For them.

He reached his room.His door was not shut, just cracked open slightly, and he could hear a girl's voice coming from behind it.Aha.He started to put his hand on the doorknob but the hurt tone of Misty's voice stopped him short.Pikachu tried to go around him to see what was wrong but Ash blocked him with his foot for a minute."Shh," he said as softly as he could, then squatted down and started stroking the back of his pokémon.

"What do you think of it, Togepi?" he heard her say.

A high-pitched "Priii!" was the answer.

"Thank goodness," she sighed. "If you hadn't liked it I don't know what I'd do."

_She's still obsessing over that perfume!Ash thought in disgust.All the more reason to change his mind about her present.If that was all she was talking about, he might as well go in.He started to stand but she started talking again and he waited.He had a feeling she wouldn't be too pleased with him if he interrupted._

"I expected Ash not to like it," she was saying now."He doesn't have any sense about stuff like this."

_That's not what you said this afternoon!He protested to himself._

"And Brock and Professor Oak are both guys, so it's okay that they didn't seem to care either.Though I expected them to be more mature about it.But even Mrs. Ketchum was laughing at me."Her voice gave a tiny wobble on the last sentence, and Ash heard her sniff.His eyes widened.

_Shoot!_

Of course, Misty had no idea of knowing that everyone was really teasing him.She thought they were all laughing at her.And hanging around him and Brock all the time, Misty didn't get a chance to interact with many girls.She probably thought of his mom as a role model of sorts.If she thought Delia was laughing at her it would hurt her more deeply than somebody like him.

_Oh please, tell me she's not about to cry...it can't be **that big of a deal...he begged silently.**_

Togepi gave a sympathetic squeal.

"I felt like such a baby," she finished, and Ash was positive he heard tears in her voice that time.

_You are a baby, he thought automatically, but his heart wasn't in it.Surely he was imaging things.Misty didn't cry over stuff like that.But then again, she was a girl.They always seemed to cry over the little things—like perfume—but didn't even bat an eyelash at the big things—like impending death._

In spite of knowing this, it didn't matter.He may not understand why girls cried as much as they did, or _why they cried over what they did, but it didn't change the fact that any time he heard or saw tears in a girl (imagined or not) he was reduced to a stuttering idiot who would do anything to make her feel better.Even if it made him look like a fool in the process.In other words, he turned into Brock._

He had heard enough.He slowly backed away from the door and went down the hall the way he came in order to give her some privacy.But he didn't want to go back into the kitchen, so he stopped right before the living room and leaned against the wall in frustration.He slowly slid down to a sitting position.Pikachu crawled in his lap, but even his pokémon's sympathy didn't make him feel better this time.

He was effectively stuck.Now he _had to get her that perfume, like it or not.He groaned."Love potion number nine, coming right up," he said to Pikachu.Pikachu patted his knee as Ash's head dropped in resignation._

Off in the kitchen, Delia and Brock started a rousing duet of "Love Can Move Mountains."

_Yeah, Ash thought sarcastically, __it can move mountains._

_But right now, I'd much rather it be buried **underneath one!**_

_ _

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COMING UP IN CHAPTER FOUR:Ash finds out that love, just like an oddish, is elusive.

Poké-pun of the day:I hate to disappoint any poké-pairers, but Mew and Mewtwo were never meant to be.Just think about it.Their children would be Mew-tants!

Thank you to A*Mon, who gave me my fourteenth review and took me off of the dreaded number thirteen!I really hate that number..._*shudders*_Yes, I know I'm a nut.What, you couldn't tell by the poké-puns?

Many thanks to everyone else who has encouraged me as well!I'm really starting to have some fun with this story. Keep on being your wonderful selves and I'll see you next time!

_ _


	4. Falling In and Out of Love

Ash and Misty's Love

**_ _**

**_Ash and Misty's Love_**

_Chapter Four—Falling in and Out of Love_

"But mom..."

"Ash Ketchum, I said no!"

It was Thursday morning.Delia was getting ready to leave for town, and Ash was standing in the doorway, blocking her way.And pouting.

"The sale ends today!I only need a few more dollars!"Despite her words, he wasn't ready to give this up.

Delia sighed."I'm sorry honey, I don't have anything for you to do right now."

"Let me run your errand for you."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"You just can't," his mom said flatly, her tone telling him that as far as she was concerned, the matter was closed."Look, maybe you can do something for me later on today.I promised you, you would be able to get the..."She rolled her eyes at Ash's frantically waving hands, but complied with his wish not to say the word 'perfume' out loud.He was still a bit spooked that Misty would suddenly show up around the corner somewhere.

"...the you-know-what one way or another.You'll just have to trust me on this one. Now move out of the way, I have to go."

Ash sighed himself and looked down at the ground.

"Ash..." she said warningly.

"Alright, alright."He grudgingly scooted aside, still keeping his head down.He grimaced when his mom teasingly stuck her finger under his chin and forced his head up in order to plant a kiss right in the middle of his forehead.He was a boy. He was supposed to shy away from affection.Even if he did like it.

"Ma-ma..." He groaned, but couldn't stop himself from grinning when she then swiped the cap from off his head and tousled his hair.

"Cheer up.It's going to be a beautiful day, maybe you can battle or something," she said."Bye-bye now!"She walked out the door.Mr. Mime was already outside waiting for her, open umbrella and all.Delia waved when they reached the end of the sidewalk, and Ash waved back.Then they were gone.

Ash closed the door and sighed again, then pulled his hat back on, tugging the bill down resolutely.His mom wasn't the only one who could be stubborn when she wanted something done."Pikachu, we're going out.Are you with me?"

Pikachu looked up from his breakfast bowl and gave a "pi" that plainly said, "Why are you bothering me when I'm eating?"That was not quite the enthusiasm Ash was looking for.

"Aww, come on Pikachu.I want to try to get five more dollars as soon as possible so I can go into town later.We'll stop for lunch later on, you know..." 

His pep talk was interrupted by his own stomach grumbling, and that was when he remembered that he had forgotten to eat breakfast that morning himself."Okay, I guess we can wait a _few more minutes," he said sheepishly as he walked to the cupboard to get a bowl._

He poured himself some cereal with milk and bulldozed his way through it, trying to formulate a plan for the day as he did so.He remembered to leave a little bit of milk at the bottom for Pikachu, who liked the chocolate flavor the cereal left to the milk.After he let Pikachu slurp that down, they were ready.He grabbed his wallet and they headed to the door.

"Hey, where are you off to so early?"

Brock walked in, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.Ash always thought it was amusing to see him first thing in the morning.His hair, though spiky during the day, was as neat as his mom's china cabinet compared to how it was after he slept on it.It looked like a sandslash had taken residence on his head.

"I've still got to earn more money," Ash said, determination on his face.

Brock looked like he didn't know what to do with this information.Ash hid his grin again; he wasn't sure if Brock was surprised at his persistence, or if his friend was just groggy from sleep.

"What about training?The Pokémon League is less than two months away," Brock managed to come up with.He had a bit of a one-track mind until he had his coffee, and that was the last thing they had talked about last night before falling asleep.

"I know, I know—maybe this afternoon.Hopefully I'll be able to earn enough to get it this morning.But until then..." Ash said.

"Get what?"Misty asked, causing Ash to jump as she walked in the kitchen.She was moving a little slowly as well, but was at least alert.She gave Brock a wry grin.They had both learned to leave him alone for the first ten to fifteen minutes of the day.

"Misty!" Ash said, irked.He closed his eyes and tried to count to ten before he answered.He didn't want to fight this early in the morning.

It was no good."Nothing," he answered curtly. 

"Oh, are you still trying to get that Hyper ball?" she said, yawning either at him or from sleep.She wandered over to the fridge and poured herself a glass of milk.

"I'm not trying to get a Hyper ball!" he said.

"Sure you're not.Try not to be so obvious, Ash."She rolled her eyes and sat down at the table.

_Try being a little more perceptive, Misty, he felt like saying, but bit his tongue.As long as she thought he was trying to get a Hyper ball, that was a good cover.Seeing her did remind Ash of something.The only problem was, he couldn't mention it in front of Misty._

He opened the door and started to step out, but motioned for Brock to follow.Brock stared at him blearily for a moment, then shook his head and obeyed.Misty looked at them both suspiciously when he pulled Brock outside to talk, but what else could he do?

He shut the door most of the way and tried to whisper a reprimand to his older friend."Be nice to her today.You hurt her feelings yesterday with all those dumb love jokes," he growled.

Brock looked startled, and gave Ash a look as if it had been Ash who had just awoken instead of vice versa."But I wasn't teasing her..."

"She doesn't know that!Just be nice.And lay off all the love jokes!" 

Brock yawned, then shrugged, obviously still too tired to argue further."Gotcha."

Ash nodded and started down the path. He was making his way down the walkway as Brock went back inside.But before Brock had shut the door, while Ash was still within hearing distance, he heard Brock say, "Gee, Misty, I know I was having a lot of fun yesterday, but you know, I really like that _Love_ stuff.You smell really good right now."

"I'm not wearing any perfume, Brock."

"Oh."

Ash grinned.He could just imagine Misty's face.Brock was probably trying to make up for his faux pas now—but he hadn't achieved full awareness yet.

"Uh...it must be that natural girl smell, then."

_What?Ash thought to himself, snickering.__Come on, wake up before you try to deliver a compliment, Brock!Misty must have been thinking along the same lines._

"Ash!" she yelped just before the door shut."Don't leave me alone with this psycho!" 

Ash gave a cheerful wave good-bye.And he and Pikachu were nice enough to wait until they reached the end of the street before they broke down in laughter. 

***

Unfortunately, that was the high point of the day.From there it went downhill, fast.At half the houses he stopped at, no one was home.The rest mainly had stay-at-home moms who were too busy themselves to have him doing anything.He did get lucky and met one lady just as she was getting out of her car.She took pity on him and gave him a dollar to help her carry in the groceries.But now it was early afternoon, and he was still only at twenty-four dollars and twenty-four cents.It wasn't fair.He was _soclose._

"After all that, maybe we'll have to get Misty something else after all, Pikachu," he said dejectedly.Pikachu, nestled on his shoulder, sighed along with him."Mom promised me, but..." he trailed off, not wanting to admit that he didn't fully believe her.He loved his mother, but she could be on the flighty side sometimes. And she didn't always understand exactly what was important to him, which made it even more likely that it could escape her mind.Pikachu gave him a sorrowful look, not wanting Ash to be thinking that way of Mrs. Ketchum.

"Think we should give up and head into town?"Ash asked his pokémon.He stood in the middle of the road, contemplating his options."I don't think she even knows I'm planning on buying her a present, so she should be surprised no matter what it is."

Despite his words, he felt uncertain.He had a gut feeling that perfume was the perfect gift, and he always followed his instincts.He also hated—absolutely hated—to admit defeat. But then again, he didn't want all his efforts to be wasted, either.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes off to the side.As this was a welcome distraction from their dilemma, both Ash and Pikachu looked over at the brush curiously.Ash frowned.The very last bush on the left looked odd, like it was a different species than the rest.His mom would know what it was, but he didn't.

Pikachu walked over to the bush and started sniffing it.Then...

"AAAARGH!"

"PIIIII!"

Both Ash and Pikachu gave startled yelps as the bush promptly _jumped out at Pikachu._

"Pika-CHU!!!!"Pikachu reacted with a frightened, split-second thundershock and the bush flew back several feet.Ash did a double take at this, then switched his startlement to excitement as he realized what it was.

"It's not a bush, it's an oddish!" he said.It had been hiding behind the other bushes so that only its leaves stuck out.This was great!It had been awhile since he had captured a new pokémon.But even as he reached down to take a spare poké-ball, he realized something, and his eyes widened.

Once on their journeys, right before he had acquired Bulbasaur, Misty had tried to catch an oddish herself.But still, just this past week, she had exclaimed over an oddish stuffed toy.So unless he missed his guess, she still liked oddishes as well as before....

...which meant that if he caught this oddish, it just might be as good a gift as the perfume would have been!

"Alright, let's catch it!Poké-ball, go..."Ash stopped mid-swing.

The oddish had timidly crept up to where it was before, and just stood there, trembling.It gazed up at him with tears glistening in its eyes.Ash had a feeling that they could be released at any moment.When it noticed him looking at it, it stared him straight in the eyes and squeaked a pathetic, "Oddish?"

"Darn it," he mumbled.Tears in pokémon were almost as effective as tears in girls.The poké-ball would have to wait."What's wrong?"he asked, kneeling closer to the ground in an effort to appear less threatening.

Pikachu walked closer to the oddish, which hastily backed away, still skittish of his thundershock.Pikachu gave it a reassuring "pi," and the oddish allowed him to come so close as to stand right next to it.Pikachu pointed at something the oddish was standing on.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked.He cautiously came closer."Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," he told the oddish."Or capture you," he added as an after thought.

There was a piece of paper trapped underneath the oddish's foot.He carefully pried it out from under it, the oddish backing up in fear."It's alright," he said, trying to comfort it and examine the piece of paper at the same time.He read the words out loud."Lost: Oddish.About one foot high, only one year old.Answers to the name of Missie."

The oddish gained a look of hope at hearing its name, and walked hesitantly up to Ash."That's you, huh?" Ash asked."Pretty smart for you to recognize your picture on the paper.Missie. You must be a girl.Or at least have a girl for a trainer," he said, smiling."I bet you were just scared because you were lost.Why don't we see if you can get you home?"

"Oddish!" it cried joyfully, and to Ash's surprise, jumped straight up and into Ash's arms.He laughed.

"Wow, you're affectionate when we're not trying to catch you, aren't you?" he teased."You like that idea?Great.Now we just have to figure out where your home is," he wondered.

Pikachu tapped the piece of paper again."Pika pi," he said.

Ash looked back down."Oh!There's an address.That's not too far from where I live, either."He picked up the flier, folded it so that only the address was visible, and looked down the road determinedly.Until he remembered one small detail.

"So much for the perfume," he said sadly.Pikachu looked downcast as well.The oddish, sensing that it was somehow causing problems, gave him a guilty, apologetic look.Uh-oh.Those weren't tears in its eyes, were they?He hastily smiled at it, trying to shrug off his own disappointment."That's okay. It's more important that we help you get home. Well, let's go."

They set off, Ash carrying the oddish, and Pikachu trotting along beside him.The closer they came to the address on the flier, the more oddish seemed to recognize its surroundings, and the happier it became.Finally, just as they reached the correct street, it jumped clear out of Ash's arms and started running away.

"Hey oddish, wait!" he shouted after it frantically."You don't want to get lost again, do you?"Boy, did he ever hope it knew where it was.Knowing his luck today it would run straight past its own house and he'd be stuck chasing after it again.

It stopped, and for a minute Ash thought it was because the oddish had listened to him.But then it took off down a driveway.Ash ran up to the house and checked to see what number it was, then looked at the flier and compared the two.He smiled.He guessed the oddish did know its own home, after all.He walked up to the door of the house.

Oddish was leaping up and trying to touch the doorknob.It was a futile effort."Whoa, Missie. Here, let me help you," Ash said, then reached out and rang the doorbell.

"Coming!"A man's voice answered, and Ash heard footsteps.A moment later the door cracked open, the security chain still in place."Who is it?"

"Oddish, oddish!"Missie said energetically as she tried to wedge her way through the small opening.Obviously failing, she then tried to tackle it, but only succeeded in knocking herself back several feet.

"Hey, calm down," Ash said as he knelt down to pick her up, but the man had already realized who it was and was hurriedly releasing the chain.He opened the door completely.

"You found Missie!" he said, gratitude written all over his face as he took the oddish from Ash's arms.

"Well, it was more like it found me," Ash admitted, giving the man the 'lost' flier."She was sitting on this.That's how I knew she was yours."

"You don't know how happy I am that you found her," the man said, hugging the excited Missie in his arms."This is my little girl's first pokémon.She's only six years old and she was heartbroken when Missie disappeared.She had even named Missie after herself.They're both Melissa.Missie for short."

Ash felt a warm feeling inside his chest.At least one thing had gone right that day."It was nothing.I'm glad she's back where she belongs."

"Me too.Just hold on while I go get your reward."

Ash blinked.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"The reward.You did see the bottom of the flier, did you not?"The man held the flyer out to Ash so that he could see.Sure enough, down at the bottom, in a different font than the rest, was the word "Reward.$50."

_Wait a second...**FIFTY DOLLARS?!**_

How the heck had he missed that?Then again, if he hadn't even seen the address in the first place, maybe it wasn't that surprising...but fifty dollars?The polite thing to do would be to not overreact, but Ash was so shocked that he didn't even think of trying to hide his astonishment.

"You returned her without even knowing about the reward!" the man said, even more grateful.Aha.So Missie was a her.This fact didn't distract Ash for long though, as the man quickly added, "Now you are even more deserving of the reward.Let me go get it."

Ash could only stare.

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COMING UP IN CHAPTER FIVE:What, you mean besides a double plot twist?Ash learns that love is unpredictable.

Poké-pun of the day:I know you've always wondered about the character's full names, and I've got them for you.They're Asher Cole Ketchum, Misty C. Shell, and Brock Bottom.A little known fact about Tracey Sketchit: his middle name is Indian and translates to be "Little-boy-who-paint-by-numbers."

(Unlike a lot of people, I actually like Tracey, but I couldn't resist...^_^)

Thank you to Sgt. Pepper, for giving me another 'love' pun that I had left out!I put it to good use in giving my chapters titles.Do you like them?Oh, and I appreciate the song suggestion too, but that may have to wait for another story.^_~

Thanks so much to everyone else as well.You should see me smile when I read the reviews.Did I mention that it cracks me up every time somebody says that they 'love' this story?He he...there are too many puns available with that word!Anyway.I think the next chapter is going to be something you are all waiting for, so if you don't like it...well, then you don't like it.^_^;But I'm _pretty_ sure you will.See you soon!


	5. To Love Again, or, Love by Grace

Ash and Misty's Love

**_Ash and Misty's Love_**__****

_Chapter Five—To Love Again, or, Love by Grace_

**_Ash trudged wearily up the steps to his house, Pikachu curled up on his shoulder, the pokémon's head close to Ash's in an effort to make him feel better.After everything he had done...he had nothing to show for it.Time to face the music.Even though it was his own house, he rapped lightly on the door to warn anyone who was home that he was back, and walked in._**

Misty and Brock were both in the kitchen, and they looked up at his arrival."Hey, how's the working boy?" Brock teased him.Misty gave him a mischievous smile from the table, but their looks softened when they saw his downcast face."Are you tired?" Brock asked, understanding in his voice.

"I guess," Ash said, shrugging his shoulders.He told himself that there was no reason to be this disappointed and tried to smile, but didn't quite succeed."We've been walking all day."

"Hey, we made cookies," Misty said, pointing to a plate on the table.She seemed to think that anything involving food would cheer him up.Okay, so she was usually right.Just not today.

"Or rather, I made them, and I kept Misty from burning the house down when she tried to help."Brock snickered.That was risky.Misty looked like she was ready to beat him up over that remark, but, Ash noted wryly, she didn't bother to contradict him.That did bring a slightgrin out of him.

"They're chocolate chip," Misty said."Extra chocolate, too.I'll pour you a glass of milk if you want it."That was strange—normally she wouldn't offer to get him anything.She must be concerned about his behavior.Even if she wasn't, his next actions would probably give her reason to be.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said."I'm going to lay down now."He walked towards the door that would lead to his room, but did not miss Misty and Brock's incredulous gapes.

"What, Ash turn down food?" Brock said, weakly attempting a joke.Ash didn't answer and just kept walking.After a moment of hesitation, as he knew she probably would, Misty stood up and followed him.

As soon as he reached his room he climbed up on his bed and lay down on his side so that he was facing the wall.When he had settled, Pikachu crawled over him and curled up next to his stomach.Misty watched him from the doorway.She looked up at his back and asked gently, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ash said.His tone was factual, not rude.

"Then why are you so sad?"Misty crossed the room and climbed up the ladder to sit next to him.It was strangely comforting to have her there.

"I'm not sad," Ash said."It's probably like Brock said.I'm just tired."

"Oh."

They both sat in silence for a moment.That was one thing that Ash liked about their friendship—they didn't have to talk to feel comfortable with each other.He knew this wouldn't last long, though. Misty was just giving him some time to feel better. Eventually she spoke again.

"Did you not earn enough money to buy your Hyper ball?" she asked him.

"I'm not getting a..." A hint of emotion, albeit annoyance, was in his voice as he started to answer.But then he stopped.Arguing with Misty about the Hyper ball was as fruitless as Missie trying to tackle the door.One was too hard to break and the other was too hard-headed.

"No," he said."I mean, it's not that."And technically, that wasn't a lie.It wasn't about the Hyper ball.It was about the perfume.

"Well, what happened?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said again.

"Come on, Ash," she said, cajoling.When he didn't respond, she gently reached over him and placed one of her hands in his own, and politely ignored the fact that he visibly jumped at this.

He blushed, and he wasn't sure if it was because of his reaction to her taking his hand, or from the fact that she was holding it in the first place.It felt funny—her hand was smaller than he would have thought.He was touched, though.Misty was hardly ever this sweet to him.

"It's really nothing, Mist," he said."I promise.Thank you, though."

"I see," she said reassuringly, still holding his hand.Ash smiled in contentment.She sounded like she understood that he didn't want to talk about it, but she still wanted to comfort him.Really, he underestimated Misty sometimes.He knew she was a caring person, but she didn't have many opportunities to give her attentions to him.He noticed now that she was starting to entwine her fingers with his, and he loosened his grip to let her.He was surprised that this didn't feel as weird as he would have thought it would feel.This felt nice.This felt very...

"OWWWWWWWW!"He yelped as her fingers suddenly latched onto his pinkie finger and pulled it straight back.He bolted upright, his happy thoughts quickly dissipated by the sudden sensation of great _pain.He tried to yank his hand out of Misty's, but Misty held fast._

"So, Ash, are you going to level with me, or am I going to have to see how far back I can stretch your little finger?" she asked menacingly, while Ash gave a distressed look at his poor hand.His pinkie was practically horizontal with the floor.Misty pushed it down ever so slightly and Ash gave a small whimper.

"Alright already!I give up!LET GO!" He yelled the last as he broke free of her grasp.Or rather, she released him—but only as soon as he admitted defeat.Her eyes were twinkling but he was still gazing at his finger anxiously.

"That hurt," he accused.

"Duh," was her good-natured answer."Now are you going to talk, or am I going to have to do it again?"

"I found an oddish today," he began hastily."I tried to capture it."

"Now we're getting somewhere," she said approvingly."And let me guess.You didn't."

"No.I mean yes.I mean, I didn't capture it, but it wasn't because it got away.It already belonged to someone," he explained."It was a little girl's pet."

"So what's the problem?" Misty asked."Did she get mad at you?"

"No.She was thrilled, actually.You see..." Ash sighed."See, the reason I found it in the first place was because it was lost.But there was a flier that told where it lived right next to it.So I used the address on the flier to bring it back to its home."

"Umm, Ash...it's not that I'm unsympathetic, but I still don't see the problem here," Misty said.Ash slouched down before he answered, not looking at Misty at first.

"There was a reward for finding it," he said.Misty scratched her head at this.She had evidently given up stating the obvious.

"That's not a good thing?"Okay, so she had taken to rephrasing the obvious.

And this is where he allowed himself to look her straight in the eye."I didn't take it."

He waited for her to say something, whether it be to call him stupid, crazy, or whatever.But though she displayed the appropriate amount of surprise on her face, she was silent as she waited for him to speak again.He was grateful for this.

He slowly lowered himself back down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling as he finished his story."I hadn't even known about it.I had somehow overlooked it on the flier.But before I could even manage a 'thank you' suddenly I hear a tiny, little girl's voice shrieking 'Missie!Missie!'—that was the oddish's name.And then this small blonde-haired girl ran out—and I mean really ran—to see her.She grabbed its leaves and they started jumping up and down."He laughed."Missie—that was the little girl's name too—was only about as tall as my waist, and when the oddish jumped it was almost as tall as her head.It was really cute.

"So then her dad tells her that I'm the one who found Missie, and both of them run to me and start laughing and hugging me around the waist.Then they go out in the yard and start playing together while her dad and I are watching them.And I couldn't stop myself from thinking."He swallowed."What if it had been Pikachu?"

Misty smiled slightly."You'd give anything to have him back."

"Yeah," Ash said, "I would.But it made me think—I'd want someone to return Pikachu, just like I returned Missie.He shouldn't have to pay me for doing the right thing, should he?And besides..." he hesitated, not sure if he should continue, but heck, he had told everything else, there was no reason to hold this back."I wasn't sure, but I was a little worried that they might need the money.They may not have, but I just had a feeling.So, I couldn't take the reward."He rolled over on his side and stared at the wall.Pikachu curled up next to him again, but this time it only served to remind him of the afternoon's disappointment.

"You did do the right thing," Misty said.Her voice was softer than it had ever been.He could tell she was pleased, and that made him feel guilty.

"I know," Ash said."It's just that...I mean, I know I was right.But I feel bad for even feeling bad that I couldn't keep the money.Does that make sense?It made me feel greedy," he clarified.

"You're not greedy," Misty said."Just human."

"It was hard getting my hopes up and then letting them go," he said.

"I know."Misty rested her hand on his shoulder, and this time Ash managed to not make his startlement so visible.He smiled at the light pressure.That alone was enough to let him know how she felt, but she said it anyway."I'm proud of you."

"Thanks."

They sat in companionly silence for awhile, Ash resting, Misty very lightly rubbing his shoulder.Ash wondered for a moment why the rest of their time on their journeys couldn't be spent like this—Misty was one of his closest friends, but right now, he didn't know if he had ever felt closer to her.And then Misty had to say, "You really want that Hyper ball, don't you?"

That effectively broke the mood.Ash clenched his teeth and didn't answer.Misty giggled.

"Never mind.I know you do."She got up and climbed down the ladder, then walked over to the dresser to ruffle around one of the drawers that Ash had let her use.Ash rolled over on his other side and watched her curiously.She usually kept her undergarments and cosmetics bag in that drawer.He wasn't supposed to know that—she had made him swear on the Elite Four that he wouldn't touch it—but he did.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.This time it was Misty who didn't answer.She pulled something out of her cosmetics bag and walked back towards him.What, did she think that lip balm would somehow console him?

"That man was right about something.You deserve to be rewarded for doing something good.You don't have to be, but you do deserve it."She smiled."Is this enough to help you buy your Hyper ball?" She held out a ten dollar bill.

Ash gaped at her."I—I can't take that," he stammered.She hadn't had any money earlier in the week.This had to be the money Professor Oak had given her yesterday.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because...because..."__

_Because, you'd be buying your own birthday present, that's why!_

"Because it's yours," is what Ash managed to come up with.

"Exactly.So I can give it to you if I want," Misty said."Here.I was just going to buy that perfume with it, but I'm not sure I could even save enough money to buy it before we leave, anyway.So take it.And to think, it's not even _your birthday."_

She winked, and he was paranoid for a minute that she knew.Had Brock told her?That stupid idiot...and then he remembered her reaction to Brock's joking around yesterday.No, she couldn't have known.Besides, Brock wouldn't tell her.It would spoil the opportunity for him to tease both Ash and Misty mercilessly at the same time.Ash still hadn't figured out how he was going to get out of that one without either of them escaping death by embarrassment.

_She was only going to buy perfume with it...She'd still be getting exactly what she wanted, only he would be helping her out without her knowing it.Should he?_

"What time does the Pokémon Palace close today?Five?" she asked, oblivious to his thoughts, as she nodded at the clock."It's just a little before four-thirty.I bet if you hurried, you could make it."

Ash made his decision.

"Okay!"His spirits tripled in a matter of seconds.He quickly grabbed the money and scrambled down the rungs of the ladder.Snatching his wallet off the dresser and putting the money in it, he forced himself to slow down on his way out the door in order to shoot Misty an incredibly grateful look.The extent of her generosity hadn't quite sunk in yet, and he was half afraid that he needed to make a swift exit before she changed her mind."Come on, Pikachu.And I'll pay you back for it, Misty, I promise.I gotta go!"

"Sure you will.Just like you paid me back for my bike, right?" she yelled as he and Pikachu both sprinted out.

"ARGH!"

_Bump. As lucky as Ash was that he didn't fall down the stairs, he still managed to fall flat on his rear right in the middle of the hallway.Pikachu ran straight into his back and gave him a dazed look._

_She **would** have to mention that!_

He gave a wry grin as he heard Misty laughing at him in his room.She had hung around him long enough to guess what had happened.

_Okay, so she's still not being **totally nice to me...He thought as he scurried up and he and Pikachu continued on their way.Misty could still be heard giggling in his room.He had to admit, it was kind of cute.Not like the obnoxious chirping that half of the girls Brock fawned over had.There was only one minor detail that kept him from liking it completely.**_

_It would be nice...if she wasn't laughing at **ME, that is!**_

***

"Gotta hurry.Gotta hurry..." Ash panted as he raced down the road, Pikachu running along beside him.The pokémon actually had more endurance than his trainer, and in spite of his shorter legs, acted as a pace setter for Ash.It was about a fifteen minute walk to the downtown, but Ash wanted to be sure to get there before the drugstore closed.He hoped it didn't close any earlier than the majority of the other downtown stores did.

He had the beginnings of a stitch in his side by the time he made it there, but as the clock on the bank, which was the highest point in town, chimed the hour, he saw with relief that he still had fifteen minutes.He allowed himself a few seconds to wipe his brow and catch his breath, and then he headed to the drugstore.

An employee was sweeping the aisles, and Ash saw that it was the person who had helped them a few days ago."Oh, you're back," Ben said when he saw Ash."Did you come back to buy that perfume for your girlfriend?"

"What?She's _not my girlfriend!" Ash glared at Ben.He decided that Ben's slow-growing smirk at his reaction was decidedly unprofessional._

"I see.You're still in denial," Ben teased.

_Great.Now even the stupid teenager at the drugstore is harassing me._

"Don't worry, kid, in a few years you'll learn to appreciate the affections of a nice girl like that," Ben told him.Ash was seething, but he had one slight problem.Misty _had just done about the nicest thing she had ever done for him.He wasn't about to argue Ben on that point.Which left him basically speechless._

He could feel his face growing hot."I don't know what you're talking about," he said when he realized that Ben wasn't going to speak first.

"Sure," Ben said.Ash got the funny feeling that he was being patronized."Anyway, did you need something?"

"Yes.You were partly right.I do need to get that perfume.To buy my _friend for her birthday," Ash said, overemphasizing the word 'friend' and making Ben grin again._

"I thought you might be.You'll have to remind me what kind it was," Ben said, and set his broom aside to walk towards the perfume aisle.Ash followed him.

"It was called..._Love," Ash told him, making a face."How come perfumes always have silly names like that?"_

"Because girls only like things that can be described as _cute or __pretty or __silly," Ben said."It's all in the marketing."Ash forgave Ben for his previous ridicule as they exchanged a male-bonding type look that said __I'll never understand girls and don't know if I ever want to._

Theyreached the aisle and stopping in front of the display."Uh-oh," Ben said.

Uh-oh?That was not something Ash wanted to hear.

"Uh-oh what?" he asked

"It looks like we've sold out of it," Ben said."That's funny.I could have sworn we still had a few more bottles left."

"What?" Ash pushed his way in front of and gazed at the empty shelf in desperation."That can't be right.Don't you have any more in the back or something?"

"Nope, we put those out yesterday.Maybe she'd like a different kind," Ben said.

"She wanted that kind."

"Sorry.We must have sold the last bottle within the last hour, because I know I saw some when I started cleaning up.Too bad," Ben said.That was a gross understatement.

Ash almost fell over.Good grief.This day had been one emotional roller coaster after another.His previous notion that roller coasters had been fun was seriously deluded.Ash decided that he was never visiting a theme park ever again.Or at least not during a mood swing.

"Now what am I going to do?" is what he said, scuffing his feet on the floor in frustration.

"Watch it, I still have to mop," Ben scolded.

"Mommy knows what to do!" a feminine voice piped up."You can buy the last bottle from me, because I've got it right here!"

"Mom?"

This time Ash did fall over.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMING UP IN CHAPTER SIX:The conclusion.'Love' finds a home.

Poké-pun of the day:A squirtle walks into a bar and orders spring water.A pikachu walks into a bar and orders ketchup.A snorlax walks into a bar and orders everything.A psyduck walks into a bar and says "ouch."

(He he..._into_ a bar?Get it? ^^)

This chapter is dedicated to Sharon.I figure it's the least I can do for getting her involved in a virtual pillow fight when she wasn't even present at the message board at the time.^_^;

Thanks to Nicky for my fortieth review—what an awesome number!Thanks PurePsychicEspeon for that cool hint.I loved the end to "Faith in a Child."And speaking of hints, No Need to Know, in spite of the plot twist I think you may be right about something in your last review.And lastly, Mandy—if you don't hurry up and read this I think I'm going to have to beat you up.Watch out, I know Tae-bo.(Gotta love best friend abuse.Especially considering that if she's not readig this, how does she know I'm abusing her?^^)

Hey, if anyone happens to know any good Team Rocket puns, review, and I'll post my favorite in the last chapter and credit you.Otherwise, be on the lookout for a mangled motto (those are fun.)Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone, and hope you enjoy the ending!


	6. Give a Little Love

Ash and Misty's Love

**_Ash and Misty's Love_**

_Chapter Six—Give a Little Love_

All in all, Ash thought it was a pretty good birthday.And as Misty said, it wasn't even _his birthday._

He had started out by taking Misty to a nearby Horsea farm.Brock had stayed behind to bake the cake—he was making this one from scratch.His mom was busy cleaning the house from top to bottom, as Professor Oak was coming over later.Ash wasn't sure how his house could get any cleaner than Mr. Mime kept it, but his mom got weird when it came to guests.

The farm was a little over two miles away, and since they were walking, he and Misty allowed themselves an hour each way.And Ash had to give her credit, the outing was quite bearable, as Misty didn't try to cash in on it being her birthday every five minutes.It was only every fifteen.

On the trip there:

"Oh, look how pretty that flower is!"

"It's just a wildflower.And it's on top of that tree."

"I know.But it's my birthday...."

So Misty got a white flower to wear in her hair, and Ash got a bruise from falling out of the tree.He did not look forward to sitting that night.

And when they got there:

"Ash, look, you can buy a souvenir picture for two dollars!"

"But Misty, we brought a camera."

"But we can't get _that picture.And it's my birthday..."_

At least, Ash figured, even though he paid for it, it was her own money that she was wasting, because he never gave her back the change he got after paying his mom back yesterday.

And finally:

"Oh, isn't that baby Horsea cute?Try to get it closer, Ash."

"How am I supposed to do that?It's scared of me."

"But Ash..."

"I know, I know, it's your birthday."

"Well, you don't have to be so rude about it!"

He failed at getting the Horsea.But at least Misty was too busy laughing at him for falling in the pool in the attempt to bother getting mad.They decided to leave after that so that, as Misty put it, Ash would 'dry out' on the way home.

When they got back, she let him use the shower first.Ash didn't think this was meant as a courtesy though, as he had been informed by Misty that "he smelled like Horsea crap."Ash retorted that it was better than _being Horsea crap, but for some reason she didn't appreciate that.And then she took the bathroom for two hours once he was out._

While he was loafing around, bored because both Brock and Misty were busy getting ready for dinner in their own separate ways, he and his mom had had a 'discussion' about what he should wear that night.

"It's Misty's birthday, and you should dress up."

"But mom, Brock isn't."

"And if Brock jumped off a cliff, would you?"

"Yes."

"Ash Ketchum!Just go change right now!"

Ash wasn't sure if she was mad because he was being saucy or because she knew he probably _would jump off a cliff if Brock told him it would help him train his pokémon better.But the net result was that Ash ended up sulking on the sofa in a pair of khakis and a light blue pullover.At least they had been able to compromise on his wearing sneakers. _

Besides, his apparel had startled Misty when she was finally finished getting ready."You're not wearing jeans," she said from the doorway.Ash was too occupied with pouting to look up.

"Nope.Mom made me dress up."

"Well, I like that color shirt on you," she said, and the bashful tone of her voice was what made him look at her.Misty wasn't what anyone would call shy—wait a minute, was she blushing?And then _he was blushing, because he realized he was staring at her._

"Thanks.Your dress is pretty," he mumbled.Though he was more distracted by the fact that she was wearing her hair down.She didn't do that very often.

_She actually looks like a girl tonight.And he might have even been able to describe her as pretty.He wondered if Misty knew that._

Probably.

While they waited for the Professor to arrive, they sat together on the sofa and watched _Emergency__ PokéCenter.His mom watched the last half of the show with them when Brock kicked her out of the kitchen to finish up.And then it was time for dinner.Ash kept a watchful eye on his mom, Brock, and the Professor during dinner, but they behaved themselves—until it was time to open gifts.And then none of the three could hide their Cheshire cat grins.But he had a plan.He only hoped it worked._

Misty had wanted to open gifts before they ate cake."My sisters and I always do it that way."

"Wow, Misty, I didn't know your sisters were freaks, too," Ash said.He had gotten punched for that one.He imagined she had hit him a little less harder than usual, though.

"Me first," his mom had announced, and pulled not one, but three packages she had hidden out of the pantry."I already made sure that Misty didn't mind me doing this, but I got you all three something.After all, I missed Brock's birthday because you were traveling, and I couldn't very well get my son's friends gifts without getting him one too, could I?"She winked at Ash as she set the packages in front of each of them.

"Really?" he said excitedly, surprised enough that he temporarily put all the 'love' business out of his mind."Thanks, mom!"This deserved a hug.He'd have to remember to give her one later—in private.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum," Brock said.

"Yes, thank you so much," Misty echoed. And then they opened their gifts.

Misty squealed, like a girl would, over a heart-shaped locket.Brock squealed, also like a girl but sounding significantly funnier in the process, over a gag gift of an apron that said "Kiss the Cook."Ash could tell that Misty knew Brock was teasing her but was too busy laughing at him to hit him for it.And Ash got...

"My Hyper ball!" he yelled in delight.

"I can take a hint," his mom said, smiling."Now you know why you couldn't run my errand for me yesterday."

"Wow!This is awesome!"He had thought he'd have to wait until Christmas to get this.Of course, she could have been planning on getting him a victory present after he won the Pokémon League...

Misty was giving him a strange look."You have two now?"

_Oops.There went his cover story.His mom had this incredible knack for inadvertently foiling him.___

"Umm, yeah...so, who's next?" Ash said hurriedly.

"Me," Professor Oak said."Here you go, Misty."

"Thanks, Professor Oak!"As Misty opened her present, he couldn't help but notice that she was a lot neater about taking the wrapping paper off than he had been.He didn't know why.It wasn't as if she was going to use it again.

"Oh," she said respectfully, looking at it from all angles once it was opened."This is really nice.Can I ask what it is?"

That was a good question.Ash and Brock were both looking at the strange, misshapen lump of blue the Professor had given her as well.

"Sure.It's a unique water stone," he said."I found it one day and ran some tests on it.It turns out that it works no differently than any other evolution stone, but I thought you might like it because it's unusual."

"It's great!Thank you!"she said.Knowing her, she did like it.She probably thought it was as 'cute as a tentacruel.'Ash thought both the stone and the pokémon were ugly, but he wouldn't say that.

At least not while the Professor was there.Though if Brock had to referee a fight later on, he couldn't be held responsible.Misty always seemed to get mad at him when he was simply telling the truth.

"And here's mine."Brock pushed something that was loosely wrapped in tissue paper towards her."Sorry for the appearance.It was hard to wrap," he apologized.

"That's alright.Thank you, Brock," she said, and pulled the paper away to reveal a jar with some sort of mud-colored material in it.

"It's Pokémon food.But a very special birthday mix for water pokémon—it has kelp in it," Brock said.Ash wondered where Brock had found seaweed around Pallet town.Professor Oak must have been involved in that somehow.

"They'll love it!Thank you!" Misty said again.And then everyone except Misty turned expectantly to Ash.

He flushed, but managed to keep his tone relatively normal when Misty followed their gaze to look at him, too."I, um, have something for you in my room," he said."I'll give it to you—later."

"Ash!"

He got yelled at on three sides.Brock was groaning and rolling his eyes while the adults were laughing.Misty was watching him curiously.

"Come on, go get it now, we're waiting," Brock said.

"We were all a part of this too, you know," his mom said with a smile.

_She is right...I couldn't have done it without them...maybe I'm not being fair..._

_Fair or not—"I want to give it to her when we're alone."His face turned bright red as he realized how he had phrased it, but luckily he had given them enough ammunition that they stopped teasing him about the perfume and started teasing him about his statement._

"Sounds...romantic," the Professor said.

"Is there something you and Misty want to tell us, Ash?" Brock said.

"Mo-um," Ash groaned, which was his way of saying, _make them stop!_

_"Oh, just ignore them honey," she said."You're adorable when you blush like that."_

Ash buried his face in his hands.Then he noticed that Misty was the only one who had stayed silent during this whole mess.He looked up and saw that she looked as awkward as he felt.Well, there was only one thing to do.He bounced out of his chair.

"So, who's ready for cake and ice cream?" he asked.

Ice cream was so much simpler than love.

***

And all that brought him to where he was now.He had finished preparing for bed, and lay anxiously on the floor in his sleeping bag, the pillow over his face to hide the light.Misty was still brushing her teeth, and she'd turn the light off when she came in.

The rest of the evening had gone well.They'd had cake and ice cream, and then played the incredibly childish yet annoyingly funny game of "pin-the-tail-on-the-pikachu."Professor Oak had gotten teased about being a pokémon researcher and yet placing the tail on the pikachu's nose.Pikachu had gotten a laugh when he threatened to thundershock the Professor for that one.

Ash had been winning until the very last contestant, when his mom decided that it wasn't right to leave Mr. Mime out, and that dumb pokémon had been dead accurate.Ash wasn't sure what a pokémon would do with the prize, a slinky in the shape of an Onix, but Mimey would find some use for it, even if it wasn't the intended one.

After Professor Oak had left, they had all helped clean up and then the kids had watched more television.Misty and Ash never mentioned the matter of the gift, but neither of them forgot about the incident at the table, either.They excused themselves to go to bed before Brock.He grinned as they left but acted like a decent human being and only said "good night," then stayed downstairs to finish the movie.There was a chance he would fall asleep before it was over and end up sleeping on the sofa all night.It had been known to happen.

Pikachu had been receiving a belly rub by Ash's mom when they stopped by to wish her a good night, and refused to leave right away.So it was just Ash, Misty and Togepi who had gone upstairs, and the egg pokémon was already asleep on Misty's bed.

Ash heard Misty hesitate as she came in the door, then she said good-night and turned out the light.Ash didn't answer.He was hoping that she would think he was already asleep.She shut the door and the only light that could be seen was the slim beam that came through the crack underneath the door.

He heard her make her way across the room by memory and climb up the ladder to his bed, and then start to lay down.And then he heard the sound of the sheets shifting as she shuffled around to sit back up again.The reading light next to his bed clicked on.Ash gulped.

His breathing was very still.Maybe putting it on her pillow was a bad idea.

He had nearly passed out yesterday when he saw how his mom had gift wrapped it.She had said the paper was pink, but it wasn't just pink. It was pink-on-pink.There were bright pink _hearts covering the paper, for crying out loud.This was another reason he would never have been able to give it to her in front of everyone._

"Uhh...Misty likes pink," was all he had managed to say to his mom.

"That's why I thought this was perfect," Delia said.Perfect, yeah.That was one word for it.

Now Misty must be reading the note attached to it.Ash had found it necessary—make that imperative—that he explain himself.

_Misty—this is ONLY because you said you liked it. Mom picked out the wrapping paper.DON'T make a big deal out of it._

_Oh yeah. Happy birthday._

_There was no point in signing his name._

The paper crinkled as she unwrapped it, and Ash heard a sharp intake of breath as she opened it and realized what it was.After another moment he heard a soft _swish that sounded like—well, he wasn't sure what it sounded like.But when something wafted down to his nose a second later, he knew what it was.Good grief, girls were absolutely crazy.Why was she putting on perfume right before she went to bed?_

"Ash?"Her voice was hesitant, but he thought there was a hint of delight behind it.Good, she liked it.She had better, after everything he had gone through.

He didn't say anything._Pretend I'm asleep, he begged silently._

"Ash?"

_Come on..._

_He heard her sigh and then there was a click as she turned the light back off.Yes!She was going to sleep now.And he knew how their relationship worked.Neither of them would mention it in the morning, it would be too awkward.Somewhere down the road, Misty might do something unexpectedly nice to thank him for it, but everything was back to normal for the most part.He had succeeded.At least that was one embarrassing conversation he had managed to escape today._

"Iiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!"

He screamed in shock as he felt something jump on top of him.Thank heavens Pikachu was still in the living room with Brock.That would have been good for an extra-powerful thundershock.

"Ash!Wake up!" Misty said, shaking him by the shoulders.How'd she manage to climb down without him hearing?

He batted her hands away and knocked the pillow off his face.Not that it did any good, as it was still dark.The least she could have done was leave the reading lamp on.

"What?" he asked irritably.

She paused."Thank you for my birthday gift."

"You woke me up for that?"

"You weren't asleep."

"Yes I was."

"No you weren't."

"Yes I was."

"No you weren't."

"Yes I was...oh, you're welcome.Can I go back to sleep now?"

"When did you get it?"

Great.She wanted to talk about it. Ash wished she would wait until his heart would stop beating so rapidly to do so.He must still have been spooked from her surprising him.Unless giving a girl a gift was _always this nerve-wracking._

"Yesterday," he said.

"You didn't get a Hyper ball, did you?"

"No."

"Is that what you've been saving money for?"Duh.

"Yes."

Misty gave a short giggle."So, yesterday...when I gave you that money...?"

Now Ash had to grin in spite of himself."Uh-huh.You helped buy your own birthday gift."They giggled together this time."Do you care?"

"What?No, that's fine.I think it's better this way, don't you?" she asked.

Whatever.Girls had strange thought processes."Yeah.I guess so."

They were quiet for a minute, neither of them sure of what to say, and Ash had time to think, _Why couldn't you have just pretended I was asleep?_

_Then Misty said, "So that's why Brock has been more obnoxious than usual the past few days.It makes sense now."_

"Yeah."

"I bet you had to put up with a lot of jokes about it being because you 'secretly like me,' didn't you?"

Ash gritted his teeth."Yes."Misty laughed.

"Poor Ash."Huh?Ash felt strangely warm at that comment."You did that for me?"

"I'm a good friend."Ash grinned.

"Yes, you are," she admitted, then her tone switched to teasing."I guess, considering all you went through, there's really only one thing I can do."

"What's that?"

"Give you a thank you kiss."

"A...WHAT?"

Ash bolted upright, his face turning bright red even at the thought, only to hear the sound of cracking as his forehead connected with the only thing in the room that was about as hard as his own head.Misty's head.

"OWWWWWWWWWW!" 

They shrieked at the same time. As he rubbed his head, Ash hoped wryly that his mom or Brock couldn't hear any of this.He would not want to have to explain the sounds coming from his room.

"Ash, that was a joke," Misty said, her previous happiness now changed to a more typical disgruntlement at him. "You know, you secretly like me, me kiss you, ha ha?"

"Very funny."Ash's tone was about as flat as Misty's. 

Another pause, and then Misty evidently calmed herself enough to speak normally.Well, maybe a _little more affectionately than usual."Well, I guess I'll go back to bed now."_

"Okay.Good night, Misty."

"Good night, Ash."

He heard her making her way back up to his bunk and crawling underneath the covers.There was a small "toki," and Ash wondered if Togepi, who had amazingly slept through the whole thing, had awakened, but it was only stirring in its sleep.Then there was silence again.

Ash stared into the darkness.He would only be fooling himself if he thought he was tired.So he chose to think back about the past week.He had, surprisingly enough, survived.He had earned the money to buy a gift, coped with Brock's teasing over what it was, and then given it to Misty without having to dig a hole in the floor to bury himself in.Now that it was all said and done, would he do it again?

That was debatable.But at least she liked it.

_Really liked it, actually..._

Ash wondered about that kiss.If he hadn't freaked out, would she have really done it?And what would he have done?She said it was a joke, but...he _was curious what it would be like to have her kiss him..._

_No I'm not!Eww..let's get rid of that thought now..._

But—okay, okay, if he had survived the whole 'love' debacle, maybe he could have survived the kiss, too.And maybe it would have even been nicer than he would have thought.

Maybe.But he'd rather worry about pokémon.

Something tinged his nostrils, and he sniffed.What was that?His mom didn't have any air fresheners in his room.Wait—duh.That perfume was out of his hands for five minutes, and he had already forgotten about it.The smell wasn't so bad, now that he thought about it.Better than that daffodil stuff she had gone ga-ga over the last time.

A thought crossed his mind, and he had to stifle a giggle.But the more he thought about it, the more he felt like laughing.Until finally a little chuckle escaped him.Sheesh, he was as bad as Brock.

"What's so funny?" Misty startled him by asking out loud.She sounded as wide awake as he was.Ash wondered what she was thinking about.

"I was just thinking..." he said."about your perfume.You know what Brock would say?" 

"I hate to ask," Misty grumbled.

"Love is in the air."

"Ash!"And suddenly he was pelted in the face with a pillow.Wow, for it being completely dark, Misty had good aim.He had to laugh.

"Well, you asked!"He threw the pillow back.

"Missed me," Misty said smugly.

"Whatever."

"For someone who wants to be a pokémon master, that was a pathetic throw."

"At least I don't throw like a girl."

"Take that back!"

"Make me!"

_Whomp.Ash got hit by the pillow again._

"Okay, okay."

"Good.Now give me my pillow."

"Technically...it's my pillow."

"Ash Ketchum!I have to go to sleep here."

"You seriously think I'm going to give you back your ammunition?"

"You want me to jump on you again?"

"Here you go."

"That's better."Her heard her fluffing it up.

"Hey Ash?"

"What now?"

"Thanks for giving me such a good birthday."

"You're welcome."

"It was really fun."

"Yeah.We had fun too."

"I mean, even my sister's parties aren't as fun."

"I'm glad—I think."

"Yeah, that's a good thing.And the perfume as really nice."

"My love is your love."

"Ash!Stop it!Or should I say Brock?"

"Ouch, that was harsh."

"You deserved it.Good night again."

"What, no good night kiss?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"If you insist..."

"Good night, Ash."

"Good night, Misty."

**The End**

** **

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Poké-pun of the day:Since Team Rocket wasn't in the story, I thought it was only fair they get a poké-pun, in the form of a mangled motto.I simply take the original and make parenthetical comments after each line, the stupider, the better.If you think this is bad, you should see what I can do to radio lyrics.Such as, "Give me some time [I'd rather have chocolate.]"Try it some time.Stupid is fun...just ask my sister...LOL^_~

"Prepare for trouble!"_[or at least excessive annoyance]_

"And make it double!"_[even though there are three of us]_

"To protect the world from devastation—" _[and catastrophe, and disaster, and tragedy, and calamity, and...]_

"To unite all people within our nation—" _[not yours]_

"To denounce the evils of truth and love—" _[excluding fact or like]_

"To extend our reach to the stars above—" _[or that low lying tree branch, whichever comes first]_

"Jessie!"_["The Jezebel" Fletcher]_

"James!" _[" 'Da Girly-man" Bond]_

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"_[or a mach six spider, same difference]_

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" __[Water ballons, GO!]

"Meowth, that's right!" __[or wrong.Ambivalence never hurt anybody.]

Boy, that was long...btw, Jessica Fletcher, if I'm not mistaken, is the main character of "Murder, She Wrote."Please nicely correct me if I'm wrong.And 'Da Girly-man' is actually my boss at work.^_~Lastly, I dearly hope I got the motto mostly correct, as I didn't have it in front of me at the time.O.oIf not, please inform me, and I'll upload a correction.

Yay!My first pokémon fanfic is complete!Not my first fic, mind you, but my first in this fandom.I've been informed that I'm writing another story after this.Ain't that right, Spook?LOLJust kidding, but others are in the works.One coming up very soon, in fact.Stay alert.^_~

I wish I could thank everyone who reviewed by name, but I can't.Suffice to say I really appreciate _everyone's reviews.Really.Keep on being your sweet selves, and I'll see you next time!_


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